Category Archives: Community Arts

The Bungendore Show is a famous country show and family day out! It features equestrian shows, dachshund races and a pet parade . It always has a fabulous display of local produce for purchase and generally admiring. We were very happy when our energetic caterer Ruth (of Scrumper’s Garden) decided to decorate the hall with our Animal Panels from the previous Canberra Show.

Here is a little gallery for your enjoyment.

A deep Sea Scene welcomes people into the hall

Glorious produce with Butterflies

Chook poo and the Producers

Thylacines and Leopards

Antarctica and the elephants

We love to combine art and good food and believe that they are inseparable elements for a good life.

‘Throughout November 2017, over 150 events, exhibitions, talks, tours, activations, markets, collaborations, artist studios and open homes will be showcased as DESIGN Canberra, transforming the nation’s capital into a new platform for the best in design. The festival, now in its fourth year, is for all interests and ages and most events are free.’

There is definitely something here for everybody, whether you love architecture, design ware, gardens or fashion. There are Open Studios to investigate, Open Living rooms in architect designed homes featuring original craft work made in Canberra.

I’m very happy to be part of this festival showing my new work, some old work and how important the garden is to my aesthetic.

Not only am I showing art at Germinate, but my place is part of an artist’s garden tour running on the 25th November.

I invite you all to check it out at my home and studio on the weekend of the 25th/26th November.

It’s that time again – the Open Day is coming up on the 5th of November to help keep your Creative Spark burning – and to let you all know about our fantastic programs – including the Christmas Elves and the mammoth January program.

Our Open Days are always a festival of creative play, and this one doubly so. For the first time we’re running an Open Day side by side with the Yarralumla Primary School Fete on a Sunday, with a host of amazing activities across both our festivities!

All day we’ll help you nurture your own Creative Spark, whether you’re a Preschooler or a Parent, or anything in between! We’ll have clay to play with, watercolours to paint with, a magnificent exhibition of students’ work, and drawing, crafternooning, making, face painting, and more!

Face Painting

At around lunchtime we’ll have a fabulous Vala Dramatic Adventure Demo – and you’re invited to join in! Follow the story of the Knights of the Round Table and how the Sword in the Stone first came to be. With a bit of luck, and some chivalrous behaviour in the Grand Tourney, you might just be able to take home Excalibur!

Dramatic Adventure

We’ll also announce the winner of the Vala Contributor’s Prize and release our fantastic Aeondawn Magazine – both in collectors edition Print and Online!

Christmas Elves last year

Booking in for Christmas Elves and the January program on the day will net you a massive 20% off, and we’ll have a host of Christmassy Gifts for you to pick up for your near and dear ones – with our new and improved supply of Vala Gear, hand-selected Aeon T-shirts, and a beautiful collection of Catalysts for creativity on offer.

Garden Party Launch

Saturday 26 August, 3.00pm

We’re very excited! Teffany has been working on a large mosaiced skull made of thousands of ceramic and glass tiles, found objects and little dioramas. It has finally been installed in the Rookwood Cemetery

All welcome at the official opening of HIDDEN and announcement of the $10,000 Rookwood Cemetery Sculpture Award winner. There will be music, refreshments and art activities for the kids.

For all you groovy guys and gals, Aeoncademy is making a pop-up appearance at the Ainslie + Gorman House 2017 Program launch, Sun Down Get Down.

Come see us to hand make your very own art badge and bring a little bit more creativity into your life as Aeoncademy runs this fantastic Interactive Art experience directly opposite the Gallery.

They Say:

Join us for a garden get down featuring Canberra’s finest purveyors of disco, funk and soul; and the launch of Ainslie + Gorman’s 2017 program. At Sun Down Get Down we invite you to have a conversation with a stranger, discover stories from the future, play with mischievous performers, and tear it up on the dance floor.

What are you doing next Sunday? Did you know that the National Gallery of Australia is having a fabulous free event for families outside? It’s Sculpture Garden Sunday 2017!

There will be all kinds of art activities to participate in as well as roving performers, coffee and a sausage sizzle.

We are very excited because Aeoncademy will be there running Let them make cake! An art activity using moulds and pastry tools to create cakes, biscuits, tarts and all sorts of delicious treats in CLAY.

Yummmmmmmm clay cake.

Aeoncademy, and Teffany, have been involved in Sculpture Garden Sunday for years and years, from 2007’s Coral Fortress, to 2009’s Singing Sculpture to 2010’s Sprout, to 2011 Eggs by the Dozen, and 2013’s Fakery Bakery.

Teffany has had a long history of collaboration with the National Gallery’s families and children program – from Sculpture Garden Sundays to sculptural additions for their NGA Play space. Speaking of which…

Did you know we did the golden fountain animals in NGA Play?

The NGA Play space is a space is for the young and young at heart to have a tactile and playful experience of the themed exhibitions held at the NGA. The turtles, lizards and frogs were inspired by the Latona Fountain, a part of which features in the Versailles: Treasures from the Palace exhibition.

You can check out more of our Community Arts – like the Animal Panels we’re putting together for the Canberra Show – over here.

Both Creative Catalyst (and the Sparks in their incursions into the Art room) will be exploring animals as the inspiration, subject and object of several projects this term. A variety of materials will enable us to express and manipulate animal forms in a several ways.

Our theme is reflected in the painted Animal Panels we are doing over the next two weeks of term to be exhibited at the Canberra Show.

preparing a background

sketching a thylacine

fiery phoenix

Animal Panels painted in collaboration with our students in our After-School Creative Catalyst Program will be displayed at the Canberra Show this year in the ActewAGL Farmyard Nursery or the petting zoo. Featuring animal motifs and teaching fantastic techniques and tips for how colour, shape and texture create an artwork go and check them out yourself!

Tuggeranong Art Centre are also exploring animals during this year. They say:

Food, friend or foe; guardian, mascot or symbol, animals appear everywhere in our society. Ever present in the human psyche, animals connect us to the wild and anchor us in the domestic.Indulge in your pet passions, scrutinise the treatment of animals and receive some good old pet therapy as we explore the theme of animals across a program of dance, theatre, music, film and visual arts.

Give them a visit and see if you can find any of our beasties.

Fiery yak becomes Chocolate Moose

After we finish the Animal Panels we’re going to branch out and explore sculptural forms in Little Dog Models in our Ceramic classes. Taking this as our starting point, Creative Catalyst will expand into Large Dog Sculptures for the following fortnight with all sorts of different canine creations coming together.

Following on from our Panels project, our Mixed Materials classes are going to be exploring different sorts of Kinetic Beasties, both in standing and mobile form.

This Friday Teffany is having an opening night for her exhibition, Hearth.

Welcome to Hearth

If your children attend Creative catalyst art classes you may have heard something about this event as the art classes have been going on daily inspiration tours to look at the work in progress and check out the changing site. And pat bunnies.

Golden Frog

In the art studio Hearth

Bunny therapy

The Chicken Whisperers

Bunny hunting

Look at that!

In many ways Aeoncademy was born out of Teffany’s art practice, she has been regularly exhibiting for two decades and believes her art feeds the classes and the classes feed her art!

We think this is a great opportunity to have a look at the latest art work that Teffany has been producing following her trips to Mexico and Spain. You will see a clear influence of the colourful tile work, mosaic and use of outside space.

Teffany is also using her home garden and studio as gallery. By opening up these usually private spaces to the public she is breaking down barriers between art and and the viewer. Don’t fall in the pond!

Over the weekend you can also check out Fetish Designs, her vibrant design range of teapots, cups and more- just in time for Christmas.

Fetish design candlesticks

The opening night is Friday the 25th November, at 67 Schlich St in Yarralumla. You can park over the road under the Gum trees.

This is a chance for adults to join in the fun! If you wish to support Hearth further consider taking out a Hearth membership which will grant you delicious wood fired pizza on the Opening Night, classes at Ceramic Salon and more… See the Program for details, or talk to Andrew.

A special (free) event for children will happen the next Saturday 26th, Clay Play in the Garden with sessions between 11-2pm. Please Contact Aeoncademy to book in.

This is a weather dependent event. Watch the space Hearth for last minute information on what’s happening.

Our Artistic Director, Teffany Thiedeman, is in the midst of creating, firing and fine tuning the final pieces for her upcoming exhibition, Hearth. It opens on the 25th of November and is also the name of her art studio. It is a living space that incorporates plants, an edible garden, beehives, chickens and rabbits and a clay wood fired pizza oven.

Teffany describes her arts practice as channel making to enchantment and a celebration of imagination. Through her work at Aeoncademy and in the Canberra community she engages and inspires children to recognise and develop their spark of creativity. Teffany would like to include the children who currently attend Aeoncademy in the weeks before Hearth, enabling them to see her studio, kiln and arts practice in action and share in some of her inspirations, both living and objects from around the world. For one week only of excursions which will run during regular after school session times 4-5.30.

Aeoncademy first started from Teffany’s art studio, amidst her garden and home right here in Yarralumla. This year Hearth is in part recognition of the place that has inspired Teffany and many of her students, some of whom are now practising artists in their own right. It also presents an unprecedented opportunity for her current students to experience a working studio and experience art outside an institution.

Anna the Garden Gnome

If your child attends an after school session currently please fill in the letter attached. Please note only children who have written authorisation to attend provided will be able to participate. For any four-to-six year olds who would like to participate in this experience we are offering a free Clay Play event on the 26th November as a part of Teffany’s exhibition and you are welcome to book.

Or alternatively if your child doesn’t attend after school consider attending one of the Clay Play sessions which will be running on Sat 26th Nov concurrently with her exhibition. Contact Aeoncademy for more information and to book for this free event.

At the upcoming Yarralumla Preschool and Montessori Spring Fair on Saturday the 5th of November Aeoncademy is excited to be returning with our badging stall.

Badging is a proven favourite with all age groups as an opportunity to create, construct and display artworks. To construct a badge participants may scavenge images from the resource materials provided or draw an original artwork before pressing it on the badging machine into a piece of wearable art.

For those individuals interested in finding a little more about Aeoncademy and the specialised programs it offers to the Yarralumla Preschool and Montessori this will be a great opportunity to drop by and have a chat with our Sparks Director, Anna, or just to hang out and make some sweet badges.

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The Aeoncademy Centre

We operate a boutique Outside School-Hours Centre offering After School classes and Holiday Programs based in Yarralumla. We provide the quintessential Aeoncademy ‘Education through Creativity’ experience.